Love and Hatred
by ITgwendolendragon
Summary: Mattie Taubman is a French Jew who was taken from her home in 1942. In the Summer of 1944, her and her sister escape. They find an American camp and Mattie meets some people she will never forget. OC/OC with a lot of brotherly love from our favorite soldiers.
1. Chapter 1

A/N – Hey guys, how's it going? I decided to write another BoB fanfic, and it sure has been a while. I wrote my first one when I was fourteen years old, and now I'm going on eighteen and thought my writing has gotten a little better since then. This will be an OC/OC story with a lot of brotherly interaction with our favorite boys from Easy Company. Major characters will be Liebgott, Malarkey, Luz, Babe, and Roe, and I might add some more in as time goes on. I hope you guys enjoy, I've got nice plans for this story, so please read and maybe leave a review, it'd make my day.

Disclaimer – I don't own Band of Brothers and don't mean any disrespect for the real men of Easy Company. The only things I own are the OC's.

June 1944

I hate Germans. They're all the same. They're all killers. Fuck the Germans. I want to kill them all one by one. I want them to suffer.

We lived in France. Me, my mother and father, and my three brothers and two sisters. I was the third youngest, just ahead of Ellie and Ancelin, my sisters. All my brothers, Duwayne, Joseph, and Tyeson were older.

We lived peacefully. My dad had a nice job, my mother took care of us all, me and all my siblings got along well.

Until the spring of 1942. I was seventeen at the time, my oldest sibling was twenty three, the youngest was thirteen.

We were taken by German forces, and they weren't nice about it. They kicked down our door, rifles in their hands. They took us out of our home by force. It was the worst day of my life.

I remember getting on a train and we were all huddled together with hundreds of other people I'd never met, some were crying, the rest were quiet.

When we got to where we were going, we were dragged out of the train and told to get into line. This place was Auschwitz. I've heard of it, but I thought it was only a myth. I wondered how anyone could just take people away from their homes and put them in a prison for doing nothing but praying to the God they want to pray to.

But it was all true, and it was like something out of a nightmare.

We were separated when we got there, the boys were together, the girls were together, but some of them were taken into a separate line. And if you got in that line you were never seen again. Both my parents and my baby sister Ellie, only fifteen, got into that line.

We were taken inside the prison. Our bodies were shaved, we were hosed down, and we were given uniforms that looked like striped pajamas.

I got into a lot of trouble in this place. One time I dropped a rock I was transporting to a pile and when I bent down to pick it up my hand was crushed by a Nazi soldier. I remember the grim smile on his face while he did it, too. A little while later I back talked a soldier and I was whipped in front of everyone that evening. It was humiliating, but I didn't let them know that. I was tough, and I wanted them to know that.

My siblings weren't as tough though.

In 1943, my brother Timothy was shot. Earlier this year, my brother Joseph was taken to the gas chamber. Also this year Dylan became exhausted of all the work, and mixed with lack of hydration and food, he died while working.

I found all of this out after I escaped along with my youngest sister Ana.

She was a real trooper. She got out with me even though she had been beaten senseless just hours earlier. We walked for a long time, hiding when necessary. After a few days we found a camp in a small town where the American's were staying.

They took me and Ana to see the medics. We were both checked out and they let us stay there with the nurses. Ana stayed with them longer than I did though, she was severely wounded. I went out and looked around.

I met people. I talked. Then I sat alone and thought. I thought a lot. I thought too much. I thought of my parents and sister who were killed immediately after we were taken. I thought of my brothers and how they all died from horrible things. I thought about Ana and what shape she was in. I thought about who did all these things.

It was them. The Germans. Their evil. Their violence. How could they do such things?

They killed most of my family. Who knows if Ana will be okay, she's not looking so good. I was the only one who really made it out without life-threatening scars. But the mental scars would last forever.

I'd never hear my father's stupid jokes again. I'd never hear my mother's voice. Or Dylan's inappropriate stories. No more of Joseph telling me stories of when we were young, and no more Timothy cheering me up when I'm sad.

It was all gone, all thanks to them.

I hated them. I want them to die. And I want to be responsible for it.

"You're looking a little gloomy there, champ," I heard a cheery voice say.

This is how I met some of my best friends.

I turned to look up from where I sat on the step right outside the 'hospital' and saw a man at average height with dark hair and eyes to match. He wore a crooked grin on his face and it almost warmed my heart.

But I was too depressed to feel warmth. So I didn't respond.

He didn't seem toc are though, he just sat down next to me, putting his things down next to him. I could feel his gaze me, that smile was still on his face too, I knew it.

How could he be so happy at a time like this?

"So… What brings you here, little lady?" He asked, trying to sound endearing I guess.

I heard something click and turned to look at him. He was lighting a cigarette and the smell was wonderful. My dad used to smoke and it reminded me of him.

I watched as the man next to me took a drag and I couldn't help but ask.

"Can I have a smoke?"

He looked at me for a moment, as if surprised, but that smile was back a moment later and he was digging into his pocket again, looking for his cigarettes.

"Here, have mine," He said, handing it to me.

I took it from his fingers and placed in between mine before putting it up to my lips and drawing in the nice taste of tabaco.

I released the breath I was holding and watched as the puff of smoke pushed past my lips as the man next to me lit another cigarette.

"I'm George, by the way," He said, trying to get his lighter to work, "George Luz."

I nodded slightly and repeated his name, "George… That was my dad's name…" I then turned to face him, "I'm Mattie… Mattie Taubman."

I held my hand out towards him and he shook it kindly, that charming smile still on his face.

"Mattie," He repeated, as if testing the way it sounded on his tongue, "Mattie… You're French, no?"

He said it in a French accent, which made me want to smile, so I did, but only a little.

"And you're American, right?" I asked, smiling back at him.

He nodded and chuckled a little, "What gave it away?"

"You're forward, make lame jokes, and smell bad," I said nonchalantly, looking into his dark eyes, "Oh, and you're accent."

George laughed a little, but asked, "How would you know if my jokes are lame? You haven't even heard them, and I don't mean to brag, I'm pretty hilarious."

"And self-absorbed," I smiled, "How charming."

George smiled smugly at me as a couple of soldiers walked by, making George sit up and grab ahold of one of their arms.

"Hey guys, you should meet somebody," He said, dragging the person over to him.

One of the soldiers had dark hair and the other had red. One had freckles the other did not. They were both about the same height and looked charming enough. They had handsome boyish looks.

"Boys, this is Mattie," George introduced, "She's from around here somewhere."

"Dinan," I replied, "I'm from Dinan."

"Dinan," George repeated, smiling still, "That's where she's from."

"Yeah," The skinny man replied, "We heard her, George."

The skinny man looked down at me, his dark eyes seemed dangerous. He came off as an annoyed type of guy, he looked almost pissed off with the world. We should get along swell.

"I'm Joseph Liebgott, nice to meet you," He said, shaking my free hand, the other one still holding a smoke.

"And I'm Donald Malarkey," The red head introduced, shaking my hand immediately after Joseph did.

Donald seemed cheerier than Joseph, he wore a smile on his face, as if he were happy with everyone he met and immediately liked them.

"Nice to meet the both of you," I said, releasing Donald's hand, "How long you guys been here?"

Donald shrugged and adjusted his bag over his shoulder, "Not very long… We were just told we've got to move out in a couple of hours."

I shook my head, "No, I mean here. In Europe."

"Oh," Donald replied, "Well, we were in the UK nearly a month ago and we've only been over here in France for a few days."

"How's it going so far?" I asked. I was a very pushy person. I didn't care if I hurt the other person's feelings, but for some reason I didn't ask the obvious question. Has anyone you know been killed yet?

Donald adjusted his shoulders, almost anxiously before replying, "Alright. One of our men was wounded earlier, but we think he's going to be alright."

I nodded, "Good."

Then it was quiet. They knew something was up with me. They knew something bad had happened. But they didn't want to ask.

At least not the nice guys.

"So what's your story?" The skinny guy called Joseph asked.

I looked up to meet his eyes, almost sending a glare his way, "That's none of your business."

He narrowed his eyes at me and shifted all his weight onto one foot, "You asked us, so I'm asking you."

I didn't want to give them a full story. So I stayed quiet for a moment, trying to think of a way to respond.

"Let's just put it this way," I said, looking up at him again, "Me and my sister are the only ones out of my family left… And I'm not even sure she's going to make it."

It was quiet for a moment, then Joseph asked, "So you're Jewish?"

I looked at him for a minute, coming off as being upset, but I nodded, "Yes."

He tilted his head down to look at his feet and nodded as well, "Yeah, me too."

For some reason I was surprised, but then I realized he might just be as upset as I was. Well, not as much as I was, but still. He knew what it was like to be prejudiced against.

I watched as he sat down next to me, George still sat on the other side, "So… They just storm into houses and kill Jews? Is that how it works?"

He didn't know? I then remembered I was wearing a hat that covered my shaved hair. I was still very weak, I hadn't eaten too much recently, but one of the medics gave me an old military jacket that sagged over my shoulders, making me look fuller.

I suddenly pushed the jacket off of my shoulders and let it fall down behind me and then I swiped the hat off of my head, revealing my shaved head.

"Not exactly," I said quietly, trying to keep my emotions in check, something I was always good at doing.

The three men around me seemed shocked. So they didn't know about the camps.

"What… What happened to you?" Donald asked as they all sat up straighter, their shoulders tense now.

"Concentration camp," I said, "They're everywhere… They take you from your homes and separate you and your family… Men and women are separated, some of them are exterminated on sight, like my parents and little sister… All my brothers are dead, all murdered…"

They were quiet so I could speak, or they were horrified. I wasn't sure which one.

"My little sister, Ana… She was beaten before we escaped," I went on, looking down at my feet, "She might die, she still hasn't woken up… I was lucky. There aren't many escapees… If you're caught you're killed on sight and then they burn your body… There was always the smell of burning, rotting flesh in the camps…"

"Oh God…" George said, his face showing disgust.

"That's… That's…" Donald couldn't find words.

But Joseph could.

"What the fuck?" He cried, standing up immediately, "How can somebody just murder someone for their religion or race? That's fucking disgusting! Who would do something like that?"

I know the question was rhetorical, but I still answered it, "The Germans, that's who."

"That's—"

"Men, let's go, we're moving out!" A man yelled, garnering the attention of all the men around me.

They all stood and put their bags back on, grabbing their weapons. I remained seated, watching them as they prepared to move on.

"It was nice meeting you, miss," Donald said, looking down at me sympathetically, adjusting his shoulder strap, "I hope your sister comes out okay."

I nodded and offered a small, gracious smile, "Thanks. It was nice meeting you too."

"You're very lovely, Mattie," George said, trying to be charming, but I could still see the sadness in his brown orbs.

"You too, George," I said, shaking his hand.

George and Donald left, casting several glances over their shoulders as they walked before they disappeared in the crowd of American Soldiers, blending in with all the other uniforms.

But Joseph remained.

"You can just travel with the nurses and medics," He said, "They'll move to a more convenient area for us, so maybe we'll see you again… We can talk more then."

I nodded and smiled a tad, "Yeah, maybe…"

He nodded and cleared his throat before stretching his arm out and shaking my hand, "Well, it was nice to meet you, Mattie."

"You too, Joseph," I said, releasing his hand.

"Please, everyone calls me Joe," He smiled smugly, starting to walk away.

"Joe," I repeated, smiling a little, "Alright then, Joe."

He smiled back at me and threw a hand up to wave before he followed his comrades into the crowd of other soldiers, blending in as well.

I continued to sit on that step and I watched the soldiers slowly disappear from the town, wondering just how many of them would come back alive.


	2. Chapter 2

September 1944

Ana survived miraculously. She was taken care of for three weeks before she was released. She told them she had medical experience, as our mother was a nurse, and now she helped out. She stitched soldiers up, she wrapped bandages around their wounds, she made sure they were well fed, she had a connection with the men. She liked them and they liked her.

I didn't want to be a nurse though. I wanted to fight. I wanted to kill Germans. I wanted to rid the world of them and all of their evil.

I begged for them to let me join, but because I am a woman, they refused. So I kept on trying and trying and trying. It took forever for them to even consider it, but even now that they are, I still wasn't in.

I just travelled to England with my sister and helped out with the patients. I didn't enjoy this, but I knew how to help people so I pressed on.

I had become quite close with a few of the guys, Joseph, Donald, and George. We were currently in a bar playing darts, or at least the guys were. I was sitting back with Joe and just watching them bicker.

I had told them all my story. I told them about my family and what we did before the war. Like I said before, my mother was a nurse, but my father owned a local music store. He gave lessons to a bunch of kids in town, so obviously he had to teach us how to play an instrument.

I played the piano and was considered quite good at it by others, but I don't really think so. Joseph, my brother, played the piano as well. He played a lot better than me. He also dabbled with the harmonica. Ellie, Tyeson and Ana were never into music, they never liked playing it. And Duwayne, well, he just wasn't good at it, he didn't have the coordination for it.

Joseph ended up helping my father teach children music at his shop and Tyeson worked on construction. I wanted to be a journalist, but from the looks of things right now, that wouldn't be happening anytime soon.

"So you were a barber?" I asked Joe as he sipped on a beer at the bar where we sat.

He turned to look at me and smiled, nodding, "Yeah… I cut some of the boy's hair before we jumped into Normandy. I used to work at a barbershop back before all this shit happened."

I titled my head down and looked at my feet, wringing my hands together before asking him, "Do you think they'll let me join you guys?"

Joe frowned as he lit a cigarette, "I don't know, it depends."

I raised an eyebrow curiously, "On what?"

Joe put his lighter in his pocket as he held his cigarette between his fingers, blowing smoke out of his mouth, "What do ye' have ta' offer?"

I never really presented anybody with what I had to offer. I just threw random things out to get them swayed. I knew how to fire a gun, my uncle taught me a few years back. And I knew a little bit about the medical field. And also, I could speak several different languages.

But I never really talked to them about these things. I just begged and pleaded.

"Well… I—"

"I have an announcement to make, boys," I heard a southern voice say.

The room quietened down and everybody turned their attention to the country boy standing in a chair, grabbing Lipton by the shoulder and pulled him over.

"This here is Carwood Lipton," He smiled, smacking Lipton on the shoulder.

"He's already married, Smokey," Another man called, and in return he got a few chuckles out of the room.

"This here is Carwood Lipton, the new Easy Company First Sergeant!" Smokey cried happily, ignoring the little joke.

The room erupted into cheers to congratulate the new First Sergeant. I clapped too, but I noticed how tense Lipton was, as if he had just heard the worst news of his life.

"He says he had to make an announcement," Smokey said as he jumped back off the chair and Lipton stepped forward, a frown immediately present on his face.

"Well, uh, I hate to dampen the mood boys, but we're moving out again," He said before he turned and walked away quickly, hating to have to deliver that news.

Everybody in the room immediately got quiet and all just let that announcement sink in. Everybody around me was taking this as a bad thing, but I really wanted to help. I wanted to fight. This was my chance.

I suddenly stood and headed for the door where Lipton had just gone.

"Where you goin'?" Liebgott called after me as I walked towards the door.

I turned to look over my shoulder at him and flashed him a smug smile, "I'm going to show him what I have to offer."

0-0-0-0-0

"First Sergeant Lipton, sir," I called as I trailed after him outside.

He turned to look over his shoulder at me, wearing a grim mask over his face, "Hello Miss Taubman… What can I do for you tonight?"

I released a nervous breath before I spoke, fists clenched anxiously, "Well, um, as you know, I've been trying to join the service recently."

Lipton nodded, "Yes, and they told you could be a nurse."

I nodded and sped up my pace to walk beside him, "Yes, but I don't want to be a nurse."

Lipton nodded again and looked down at me, "Yes, so you've mentioned before."

I sighed again and looked down at my hands as I continued, "I know they won't let me in because I'm a woman, and I understand their concern, but I can fight. I know how to fight."

I heard Lipton sigh and halt his movement. He looked down at his feet and scratched the back of his head before he looked down at me, "Miss Taubman—"

"Just call me Mattie," I interrupted, getting annoyed by everything referring to me as if I were royalty.

"Mattie," Lipton corrected himself carelessly before continuing, "I know you want to help out, and I know you care about these men, and I know you want to fight to avenge your family."

His words cut me hard. My family. The family that were taken away from me because of senseless acts of violence.

"But it's just not that simple," Lipton said, "We've only been over here for a short period of time and I've already seen men killed. Men in my company. Men who have families back home who are mourning for them and—"

"And I'm mourning for my family," I cut him off, bravely looking him in the eye, "And I know the men from your company, their families, I know they're mourning too. And I know that there are some that want so badly to help, but they can't. They're too young, or they're medically unfit. But I'm neither, and I have to chance to help out in ways many don't have.

"I may be a woman, but I have the strength of a thousand men," I said, not letting Lipton get a word in, not yet, "My Papa taught me how shoot and I'm a good shot… I can kill a man from a mile away."

Lipton winced at my remark, but he let me finish.

"So please, I'm begging you," I pleaded a little more, "Help me get in. I want to help… Please. I'll do anything."

Lipton was silent for a moment, as if he might be considering it.

He looked me in the eye for a moment, as if examining me, "I like you."

He said and it confused me, but he went on.

"You're determined. You're brave. You've got a fighting spirit," He said, a small smirk on his face, "But can you handle it?"

I nodded hopefully, clasping my hands together and squeezing them hard, "Yes, I can. Absolutely!"

Lipton examined me again, taking in my appearance. My shaggy hair, my feminine appearance.

"You know higher authority would never let you in," Lipton said honestly, slumping his shoulders a little.

I frowned and slumped my shoulders as well, but I nodded, "Yes, I know…"

Lipton sighed and shifted his weight onto one foot, "Are you good at keeping secrets?"

I snapped my head up to look at Lipton again, curious and hopeful again, "It's what I do best."

Lipton nodded again, "Alright, so don't tell anybody. Try and blend in. Just try and be a regular 'man.'"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Was he serious?

"Understood?" He asked, snapping me out of wonderland.

I cleared my throat and nodded, standing a little straighter, "Y-yes, sir. Understood."

Lipton smiled and nodded, "Alright, this stays between you and me."

I nodded as he began to walk away, but I still called out, "What about Liebgott and Luz? Can they know?"

"They're familiar with you, they're going to know regardless," Lipton called as he continued to walk away, "Get some good sleep soldier, we move out tomorrow."

Tomorrow? It couldn't come soon enough.

I nodded and smiled on the inside, but kept myself composed on the outside, "Yes sir, thank you, sir."

"No problem, Private," He said, before saying one last thing, "You should probably change your name and work on that American accent. People might notice you with that French accent."

I forgot all about that. I'd figure out, I'm just glad I persuaded him. So what I wasn't doing this the way I had originally wanted? So what I had to sneak around? As long as I avenged my family by ending this war, it was a win for me.

0-0-0-0-0

"I can't believe he let you in," Don said for the fourth time in the past couple of hours.

We were getting ready to jump. The boys had run me through the procedure and how to go about it about a dozen times. It was kind of hard to forget now, it was stuck in my head like a song that's been repeated on the radio a hundred times.

"Would you shut up, Don," Joe snapped, a cigarette hanging from his lip as he got tired of hearing Malarkey talk.

"Yeah, we got it, you can't believe Mattie's in," Luz said, helping me with my harness, before giving me an odd look and smirking, "Or should I say, Matt?"

I rolled my eyes and pushed his hands off of me, "George, I can put this on myself."

He nodded and watched me do it carefully, "I know, I was just making sure it was secure is all."

Liebgott smirked and looked over at Luz, "Is our little Georgey here getting a little protective over his precious flower?"

I ignored the bickering men as I secured my harness. I did see George swipe at Liebgott, who dodged him, "I'm just worried, okay? You've never done this before. It's normal to be nervous."

I smiled and adjusted my shoulders, "I'll be fine, George. Don't worry about me."

As I finished making sure everything on my jump gear was secure and ready to go, I heard some trucks and jeeps behind me approaching and I didn't even notice everyone looking up at them as they passed. It was only after I fixed the strap on my bag did I look up and see this.

I was curious, so I raised an eyebrow, but I didn't say anything, I just turned around to see what everybody was looking at.

They were all staring at a man in the front seat of a truck. He was tall and had dark hair that was covered by a uniform hat. He seemed a little anxious, he was squirming around in his seat a little.

"Who's that?" I asked Liebgott, standing next to him as the man got out of the truck and walked around to the back of it.

"That's Sobel," Liebgott said, watching the man's every move, "He was our first CO back in the States. He busted our balls every day, trying to make us the best soldiers..."

I nodded in understanding as I watched the man called Sobel as well, still not understanding the dirty looks they were giving him.

"Malarkey," Sobel called, and I heard Don cuss under his breath, but he stepped out from behind me and saluted Sobel, who looked down at his rank that was sewn onto his arm and saluted him instead, "Sergeant Malarkey."

I sighed and turned back to Luz and Liebgott as Don was confronted by Sobel and fiddled with the straps that seemed to cover me completely, nervousness starting to build up now, "Lieb…"

He looked down at me, a cigarette between his fingers, "Yeah?"

"Um, is uh… Is it scary? Jumping for the first time?" I asked, a little embarrassed to be asking this question.

I got myself into this and I still wanted to do it, but I was still scared. Not of the fighting, but of the jump. I've never done anything like this before.

Leibgott shrugged and nodded a tad, "Yeah, a little bit… But this jump is low, so it's actually not so bad for a first jump, and hopefully we won't be surrounded by gunfire when we do actually jump, so it should be a piece of cake."

I nodded, but in reality that didn't really help me at all. I was shaking in my boots.

0-0-0-0-0

We were getting ready to jump. It was a nice sunny day out as we flew over Holland and it was quiet besides the engine and propellers of the plane we were in and the ones that were surrounding us. But the only thing I could hear was my pounding heart.

I was so scared.

I breathed in and out evenly, trying to keep myself from having a panic attack. I felt a gentle nudge from my left and looked over, nervous fear in my eyes and I saw Liebgott sending me a reassuringly look and mouthing, 'you'll be fine.'

We were about to find out.

The light flicked on overhead and we all stood, my heart pounding faster and faster. I was not one to be scared. I was usually the tough one, I had no fear. Apparently I did.

Falling.

The next thing I knew people behind me were yelling, going down the number line and saying 'eight okay,' and 'seven okay,' and so on. I would be fourth to jump, so at least I'll be getting it out of the way early.

"Five okay!" And then the next thing I knew someone's hand was on my rear and they yelled, "Four okay!"

I guess I had to do the same for the guy in front of me. So I checked to make sure his equipment was on alright before I yelled, "Three okay!"

Followed by 'two okay,' and finally 'one okay,' and the next thing I knew the green light came on and I heard, "Go! Go! Go! Go!"

We were being pushed off the plane at an alarming speed and I don't know what came over me, but I jumped as soon as I got to the door.

Now I was falling through the air and now it didn't seem so scary. It was actually beautiful, but like Liebgott said back in England, we were jumping low, so I had to pull the cord not long after I jumped. So I yanked on the cord and my parachute opened up above me and I was suddenly pulled up and now I was falling slower.

I took in a little bit of the scenery around me. Holland was beautiful. I'd have to come visit after the Nazi's were long gone.

Soon, both my feet in the ground and I went tumbling down. The wind caught my parachute and dragged me across the field a little bit, but I quickly regained control and grabbed the parachute and bringing it towards me.

I looked around as I pulled the parachute back and saw men all around me, doing the same thing. I saw Malarkey over a little ways and Liebgott not far from him. Luz was closer to me, only several yards over.

After I finished reeling in my parachute, I stood and fixed my bag before grabbing my gun and holding it at the ready as I was pushed forward a little, ordered to follow the others.

So I did as I was told.

0-0-0-0-0

"Where'd ye' get those?" A soldier asked as another one crawled through the ditch we were hidden in, holding several beers in his hand.

"That old farmhouse over there," He said, pointing, "Just sittin' out in the open."

He shoved a beer in my hand, not really even knowing who I was. He just gave it to me. I looked down at it. It was in a smaller bottle, unlike the size of the bottles we got back in England.

"I think I love Holland," The soldier said, smiling goofily.

Then a plane flew overhead as Webster pushed past all of us, finding an empty place to take cover.

"I wonder if they hit anything," A soldier said, everyone looking up at the sky as more planes flew overhead.

"Goodbye, air support," Webster said out loud, even though I think he meant to say it to himself.

"Great," Luz mumbled to himself as he slumped back against the ditch.

But he wasn't there for long, the next thing we knew we were being told to stand up and head out. We all got to our feet and were ordered to cut through a field instead of going the route we were originally supposed to go.

I followed closely behind Luz, holding my rifle in my hands, still shaking in my boots, but slowly calming down. I think the others were surprised at how well I held a gun. I knew exactly how to hold it and I seemed very comfortable with it in my hands, most women would look at a gun and think it's a men's thing to go hunting and cooking dead animals, but back just a few years my father always asked me if I wanted to go hunting with him. My brothers were never into that sort of thing.

That's what I liked about my Papa. He never forced me or my siblings to do anything we didn't want to do.

We all walked across the field very quietly, nobody really said anything. We were all waiting to be ambushed by Nazi's or something, so everyone was on edge.

We walked across the field quickly until we came to an old fence. I knelt down next to Luz and peered through the fence as a couple of soldiers aimed their guns up at a building where they saw movement through a window.

We all watched as a middle aged woman swung an orange sheet out of her window and tied it tight to a beam. What was she doing?

"Hold your fire," Bull ordered, putting a hand out, gesturing for them to lower their weapons.

I looked over at Luz and raised an eyebrow, he was looking at me in exactly the same way.

"Stay behind me," Bull suddenly spoke again, "And stay alert… Just in case."

Bull stood and climbed over the fence quickly and he was immediately followed by the soldiers who were squatted down next to him. Me and Luz stayed close as we followed behind them.

As we climbed over the fence and walked across the small yard we were in, I started hearing chanting. No, it wasn't chanting it was… Singing?

I furrowed my brow even further and looked up at Luz again. He only shrugged and looked back ahead of him, keeping an eye on where Bull was going.

We made our way in between a couple of houses and looked onto the street. Nothing. Not on this street anyway.

Bull gestured for us to follow him and we followed him onto the street, approaching the loud noises that could be heard in the distance. Why were people singing? Was there some sort of celebration?

We continued to walk for a few minutes, following the sound. As we rounded one more corner, we could see, several hundred yards ahead, confetti. It was just flying around in the air and there were soldiers. American soldiers, laughing and smiling and being hugged by the Dutch.

Bull relaxed up ahead, and everybody else seemed to relax as well.

"Let's try and get through this as quickly as possible," Bull said, slinging his weapon over his shoulder, "We've got to keep moving, so no lolly gagging, got it, Luz?"

Luz cast Bull a look, but didn't say anything. I saw Bull smirk and then he continued walking, all of us trailing behind him.

0-0-0-0-0

I was being kissed, by women, on the mouth. I forgot that I was posing as a man. I tried to fit in with the other men and smiled and thanked every woman who kissed me, hoping we got out of this soon.

"Thank you," I said as yet another woman kissed me, but on the cheek this time. Then, out of nowhere, this dark haired woman jumped out of the crowd and slung her arms around my neck and pulled me into a kiss. She kissed me hard on the mouth and it only lasted a second and then she was gone, "Thanks miss," I said as she ran off to find another soldier to make out with.

"Havin' a good time, Matt?" Liebgott said as he passed me, a smug smirk on his face as he was pushed around by soldiers and celebrators alike.

I gave him an annoyed look and wiped my mouth as I pushed ahead, "It's fantastic. You?"

"I'm eatin' every moment of this up," Liebgott smiled, "After we get through this it's back to the fuckin' war."

I nodded and wiped my mouth as a woman pecked me on the corner of my mouth, "Thank you."

I continued walking behind Liebgott as we neared people chanting. I was roughly pushed from behind and to the side as two men dragged a woman through the path I was just walking on. They were carrying the same dark haired woman who kissed me moment's ago.

I furrowed my brow and pushed myself back onto the path, standing directly behind Liebgott. He was following the men, just as curious as I was.

We made our way to a large circle and in the middle of it were several women. They all had their clothes ripped and their heads were being shaven. What the fuck was going on?

"Apparently they slept with the German's," A soldier beside me said, smoking a cigarette, "A Dutch guy over there told me that… He said that the men that helped the Krauts were being shot."

Damn.

"Captain Winters said we're probably gonna stay here for the night," The man said, watching the woman in the circle get her hair cut off sloppily, as if it didn't even faze him.

I looked back into the circle and watched what was happening with disgust and sadness. How could people do such a thing, no matter what they did? I guess this made me a bit of a hypocrite, because the only reason I joined the service was to kill Nazi's because of what they did to my family.

But they murdered people, these women just slept with them.

I shook my head before I was suddenly being pulled away by Liebgott, leaving the sobbing brunette in the circle to be shamed.


	3. Chapter 3

I still haven't seen any action. I jumped from an airplane early yesterday, went to a celebration of sorts, watched some women get publicly humiliated, slept in an air raid shelter, and now I was riding on top of tank, sitting next to Roe.

Roe didn't say much. He was kind of weird. He seemed to be in his own little world half the time.

We just passed a lady carrying a baby. She was standing on the side of the road, her clothes old and raggedy, her head shaven, the baby bundled in her arm wrapped in a thin purple cloth. One of the men gave her some food as the rest of us just stared at her sadly, all of us knowing why she was alone and abandoned.

"What the fuck is he doin'?" I heard Perconte exclaim from behind me.

I looked ahead to see what he was curious about and saw Lieutenant Breuer walking up a few yards ahead of the tanks, binoculars in hand as he peered up ahead at the town ahead of us.

"He's quite the target ain't he?" One soldier exclaimed. The tank up ahead of us stopped, causing ours to stop as Bull jumped down and called out for Breuer.

"Lieutenant!" He yelled, hoping to draw him back in, but then we were all stunned when Breuer suddenly crumpled to the ground after we heard a loud bang.

"Sniper!" One man yelled and we all started scrambling to get down off the tanks and take cover.

We all slid off the vehicles and jumped into a ditch. I was grabbed on the back of the neck and forcefully shoved into the ditch by an unknown man. I fell into the dirt and spit up what found its way into my mouth before sitting up and leaning back against the ditch.

I heard an explosion from behind me and figured the German tank must have been shot by one of ours.

"Medic up front! Medic up front!" I heard bull cry.

I held my helmet to my head and turned to look up at Perconte, "What do we do?"

Perconte shrugged and looked up ahead at the man leading us right now. The medic ran past us and into the road where Patton was laying, holding his neck, trying to stop the blood flow.

Then the medic was shot in the leg.

I closed my eyes and cowered into the ditch. What have I gotten myself into?

"Keep moving! Keep moving!" Bull ordered us, looking over at us as he tried to help both Breuer and the medic.

I was then grabbed by the shoulder of my uniform and pulled to my feet by Perconte, who pushed me forward to follow the others.

We started darting across the field. I had my rifle held in both hands and pressed to my chest, holding it securely as I followed several other men. We dashed across the field quickly and stopped to take cover behind a building.

"Stay left," A soldier commanded before he looked over at me, "You four go right."

"Got it," The soldier ahead of me said before he turned around and we followed him around the side of the building.

One soldier climbed the stairs onto the porch and peered around the corner, his weapon at the ready before he turned to look at us briefly, "Go on."

We weaved around the porch and ducked down next to a low baring wall, all of us sharing a look. The man behind me gestured towards Webster and I turned around and patted him on the shoulder, silently telling him to keep moving.

He stood up and ran across the field, myself following closely behind him. We stopped against behind a large wagon carrying a ton of hay before I followed Webster to another building where we took cover once more.

I was breathing heavily as we stopped again. I adjusted my helmet to where it had fallen over my eyes as I tried to catch my breath. I was not used to this much running. In the concentration camp I did a lot of heavy lifting. I used strength, but I didn't run much. This was taking a lot out of me, but I gave myself a mental pep talk and convinced myself to keep going. I was doing this for my family.

I looked over towards Webster, who was using some hand motions. There was somebody around the corner. Webster turned to look back at all of us and said, "Stay down."

I sighed and kept my hands tight on my weapon, trying to keep my nerves calm.

"You alright, Taubman?" Hoobler asked from behind me.

I turned and looked at him, a little surprised at his worried look. Most of the soldiers here just thought I was a replacement, so they all treated me kind of shitty, so it was understandable that I was surprised when he asked me if I was okay.

I nodded, "Yeah… I'm fine."

Hoob nodded and patted me on the shoulder roughly, but also in a reassuring way as he sat back against the wall, waiting for our next move.

Suddenly there was a loud explosion, which caused several of us to jump at the sudden noise. We were behind the wall, so we couldn't see what was going on, but I heard Webster cuss as he peered around the wall, weapon at the ready.

"Fall back!" I heard and Webster turned to us and motioned for us to run back where we came from.

We all stood and as we started running I heard a loud explosion and a chunk of the wall from the building we were just covered behind blew out and landed in the yard next to it.

That could have crushed us.

We ran back through the field as gunfire started going off from behind us. It's already been an eventful day and I haven't even fired a single bullet yet.

We ran through a yard before we stopped and knelt down behind a bush, Hoob turning to look over his shoulder at us, "There's a ditch on the other side, follow me through."

Hoob got down on the ground and crawled through the bush, rolling into the ditch on the other side. I jumped through after him and hit the ground beside him, but as the guy behind me started through bullets just punctured his body.

He fell down onto his stomach, landing directly on top of me. He was heavy and limp, and I felt the warmth of his blood seeping through his uniform and onto mine.

This shook me up, but it didn't traumatize me. I've already been through hell, but this was still a little different.

Hoob rolled the man off of me and onto his back and checked him, trying to see if he was still alive. He wasn't.

I tried keeping my emotions under wraps, figuring there would be time to cry later. I had a job to do right now and I was going to do it right.

"Follow me, stay close!" Hoob yelled over all the commotion before he crawled over me and started crawling down the ditch, going towards the building with the low baring wall behind it.

I crawled behind Hoob, feeling lightheaded as I did so. We crawled down the ditch quickly and as we reached the end, Hoob quickly stood up and jumped over the low baring wall, taking cover behind it quickly.

I inhaled a sharp breath and mustered up all my courage before I stood and jumped over the wall as well. As I stood and jumped though, I heard the gunfire, I felt the bullets whiz past me. These men do this every day.

Hoob was now sitting next to several other men who were here before us, talking to them. I held my weapon firmly in my hands as a man got up and ran past me. As the gunfire seemed to get louder, Hoob cursed and stood, running around to go after the other man who was already gone.

I could hear the German's. They were yelling, I could hear their voices, their language, their accents. It angered me just listening to them speak.

I clenched my weapon tighter in my hand as I stayed sat down next to Webster who was peering around the corner every once in a while, a shell shocked look on his face.

I could hear some of our men yelling, calling for us to fall back, but we sat there, waiting for Hoob to come back.

And he did, a moment later dragging a wounded man, blood spilling from his chest.

"Can ye' help me out a little bit here, Taubman," He called.

I looked up at him and stood immediately, holding my weapon in one hand and grabbed the strap on the shoulder of the wounded man and helping Hoob drag him away.

As we drug the wounded man to safety we started seeing a lot of our troops starting to fall back. The battle was lost. We were outnumbered and surrounded by infantry.

Me and Hoob picked up the pace and tried keeping the same pace as our comrades, but carrying a limp and wounded man made it more difficult.

I could see our jeeps and other vehicles up ahead, I could see several men putting a wounded man in the back of a truck. We were close. We could make it.

"Pick up the pace, Private!" Hoob yelled over at me, though he didn't look at me. He kept his eyes trained on our vehicles up ahead.

I tried going as fast as I could carrying a man two times my weight. I think Hoob sometimes forgets I'm only five-foot-three.

"We're almost there!" He cried as we neared the road.

As we got close, somebody pushed me out of the way and took over helping Hoob carry the wounded man. I was a little hurt at first, knowing I could've made it myself, but there was no time for hurt feelings, I had to keep going.

I ran a little faster now, the weight suddenly lifted off of me, quite literally. I ran up to the road and past the truck carrying the wounded.

"Taubman!" I heard my name being called. I looked up and over to the side and saw Liebgott in the back of a truck, holding out his hand for me to take, "Come on!"

I darted swiftly to the back of the truck and took Joe's hand, letting him pull me up. I sat down next to him and sat there tensely, waiting for someone to give the orders to fall back.

It happened only a moment later. The truck started forward and we starting our trip to find the closest base camp. I relaxed my shoulders as we started moving away from the town and watched as dirt flew up into the air from grenades going off.

I was too much in shock right now to really feel anything. I didn't feel sad, I didn't feel angry, I just felt… Empty. Is it because I saw a man get shot? Is it because several of us were killed in the short time we were here? I didn't know what it was, and I feel like this empty feeling might always be with me. I had it back at the concentration camp and its back now and it will reappear in my life throughout.

I felt an arm go around my shoulders and flinched a little at the sudden contact. I looked up to see Joe giving me a sad look. I think he was trying to reassure me, but it wasn't working at all.

I peeled my gaze away from him, but he kept his arm around me, patting my shoulder in a comforting way as we drove away from the town where lives were lost.

0-0-0-0-0

The man we drug out of the town that day died that night. We put a blanket over his body as we all sat in a field. He wasn't the first person I've seen die and he surely wouldn't be the last.

"Are you alright, Taubman?" I heard the deep Cajun voice ask.

I looked up at him in the dark, his eyes sad, but still full of hope. I nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine."

There were only six people who knew my true identity. Malarkey, Liebgott, and Luz, and of course Lipton. But Babe and Roe also knew. Even though they were both older than me, they felt like little brothers, especially Roe. He seemed a lot more caring of others and even pitied the German's when he saw one shot. I sometimes wonder how he could be so caring.

"How are you holding up?" I asked, averting his gaze as I munched on the bread that Hoob gave me just a few minutes ago.

Eugene shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he stood there, looking up at the night sky, "I'm alright…"

We were silent for a minute, but I tensed a little when Eugene knelt down in front of me, seemingly a little concerned, "What?" I snapped, but regretted it a moment later when I saw him flinch.

"I think you should get some rest," He said softly, his hands clasped in front of him, "You haven't slept at all in the past couple of days."

I shook my head and chewed on my food, "I'm fine."

"Taubman—"

"I'm fine, Roe, trust me," I said, looking him in the eye and softening my gaze, "I'll sleep when we're safe. I'm alright, don't worry about me."

That was his problem, he worried too much, about everyone.

He nodded and stood, "Alright," Then he walked off to go pester somebody else about how they're feeling and if they need any help with anything.

I continued eating.

0-0-0-0-0

We found Bull the next day. He was wounded, but still had the strength of ten men. I don't know how he did it. I don't know how he survived overnight in a Nazi controlled town, but he did and it amazed me.

We moved out that day as well, we were on the path to Germany, but it looks like it may be harder than we previously thought.

I thought I'd already had a life that you only read about in the stories, but as we got closer and closer to Germany, my life just gets a little more interesting.


End file.
